Book reviewer extraordinaire!

Thank you so much for featuring me for your fantasy reading theme issue, Myra.

I started writing ‘Princess Petunia’s Dragon’ as a picture book because I love the format. The story was about a child who wanted a difficult pet, a dragon – who finally came into his own when the weather suddenly turned cold. Each time I did a draft I found myself developing the plot, until it ended up at 7,000 words for a reading age of six to nine. I don’t make many conscious choices as I write, rather my imagination makes demands on me.

Like you say, Petunia is a feisty little girl and is probably the child I’d have liked to have been. Writing about a quirky, determined child is exciting, especially when she starts shouting back! I love the randomness of writing fiction.

If you’re not one of the lucky Washingtonians who snagged tickets to the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture Saturday, you can still get a glimpse of the museum from your computer screen. Watch the time-lapse video (shot from an EarthCam construction camera) of the museum’s construction, below. Originally published onContin […]

When we think of Fourth of July, we think of parades, food, drinking, and fireworks. At the turn of the 20th century, things weren’t very different. Americans celebrated Independence Day with a little too much fervor. Between 1903 and 1910, the American Medical Association reported that there were more than 1,500 deaths on July 4.Continue reading → The post […]

The one good thing about hot and humid DC weather: iced coffee. It’s cold, refreshing, and best of all, it’s loaded with caffeine. The downside: buying one or two iced coffees a day adds up. Say you buy a venti iced coffee at Starbucks. That’s around $3 with tax. If you do this every day forContinue reading → The post This Simple 7-Eleven Hack Will Get You a […]

The full list of DC road closures during the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit is long. With sporadic road closure times, no-parking zones, and Metro skipping some stops, figuring out how to get from point A to point B becomes an ordeal. So we’ve created an interactive map of all of the road closures and parking restrictions duringContinue reading → The post A Ma […]

Over the past three weeks, Washingtonian has asked DC Instagrammers to share their cherry blossoms photos with us by using the hashtag#washmagphoto. We’ve received hundreds of photos of cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin, cherry blossom-themed food anddrinks, and of course, posts of your pets enjoying the spring blooms. It’s nice to see our furry, four-l […]

The competitive race DC runners have been waiting for all year long is finally just a month away. But with snow and cold weather, it’s easy to sideline a few training sessions for the comfort of your warm bed (no judgments here). That’s why we reached out to Julie Sapper and Lisa Reichmann of Run Farther & FasterContinue reading → The post Your One-Month […]

It’s been three years since Frank Underwood began disrupting our lives with his political mind games in Netflix’s House of Cards. Though Season 3 wasn’t as drama-laden as we had hoped (no one got pushed under a Metro car), it was a much-needed series of character development (and moral degradation) to get to where the Underwoods & Co. are today. Here’s w […]

Gone are the days of squeezing into little black dresses and wearing toe-cramping heels for Valentine’s Day. Staying cozy and comfy is the objective this year, and local fashion bloggers are sharing their outfit ideas for looking cute while rocking chunky sweaters, high-waisted jeans, and yes, even activewear. Abbey Brandon of District Dress Up “Just be comf […]

Originally published at Washingtonian. After receiving an abundance of photos this weekend of dogs playing in the snow, our Washingtonian Instagram team sent out a call for DC-area residents to share more photos of their furry pals enjoying DC’s first snow/blizzard of the year. So #blizzard2016 was basically the best weekend ever for our furry pals ❄️🐕 Share […]

Originally published at Washingtonian. It’s been a little over six hours since snow started falling in DC, and already Washingtonians are getting creative with the wintry scenery. Take the Vimeo video “SnOMG #Blizzard2016 #Snowzilla #DCSnowday,” featuring Bridget Groves, 26, and Everett Warren, 27. “We were just sitting here having coffee,” said Warren, a fo […]

Ryan

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